Aguirre offers 'a hand of friendship'If nothing else, San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre is as unpredictable as they come. Aguirre, who has frequently lambasted the City Council – four members, in particular – for helping create the city's financial mess, promised a “special announcement” regarding those council members during a televised speech last night.

2 cited in sweep on smoke storesEL CAJON – A second recent sweep of East County smoke shops has resulted in two misdemeanor citations and the confiscation of 516 glass pipes that authorities say are used to smoke methamphetamine and crack.

Man with swastika robs bagel shopRANCHO BERNARDO – A robber with a swastika tattoo held up a bagel shop yesterday, police said. The robber walked into Einstein Bros. Bagels on Bernardo Heights Parkway about 4:45 p.m. with a knife and ordered one worker onto the floor.

Parents seek answers about student's stabbingCITY HEIGHTS – Parents peppered police last night with tough questions about Friday's stabbing of a 16-year-old Mission Bay High School student at a bus stop. Some parents attending a packed community forum at Edison Elementary School on 35th Street wanted to know what was done to reassure students who witnessed the attack.

Salesman sentenced in rape of teenagerEL CAJON – A door-to-door salesman convicted of brutally raping and assaulting an El Cajon teenager in her home was sentenced to 80 years to life in prison yesterday.

LAX radar upgrades in holding patternLOS ANGELES – Needs at other airports, software glitches and legal discussions have delayed several radar upgrades at Los Angeles International Airport that air-traffic controllers say are essential to help identify potential collisions on the ground.

AROUND THE REGION: REGIONAL EDITION Driver in collision facing DUI chargeVISTA – A mother and her 6-year-old son were injured Sunday night after a driver suspected of being drunk collided head-on with their vehicle.

OBITUARYDr. Chester Barta, 90; pioneering orthopedic surgeon in WWIIEach anniversary of D-Day evoked the kind of memories that Dr. Chester Barta preferred to live without. “He never forgot seeing dozens of not only dead but badly wounded bodies,” said his wife, Inge Lehman. “When he came back to the United States to practice surgery after the war, his first reaction was, 'All the parts are here.'